Page 769 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 29 March 2006
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ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Interestingly, of those surveyed by Hudson, only 10 per cent believe that they will reduce staffing in this next quarter. They are fantastic numbers. They are incredibly high numbers and reflect the highest levels of business confidence and employment expectations or intentions anywhere in Australia.
The net positive effect of the expectations is that staffing levels will continue to increase. There is a rub in that, of course. As I have often said, the ACT is a victim of its success in the context of skills and labour shortages. The economy is growing so strongly that, in a period of unemployment that really is at record levels, we are now at 3.3 per cent trend unemployment. Essentially, that is comparable to the full employment of the Menzies years during the fifties, when we regarded two per cent as representing full employment within the Australian economy. In the Australia of 2006, it is probably reasonably fair to suggest that, with trend unemployment around 3.3 per cent, the ACT at the moment is experiencing full employment. That is a reflection of the strength of the economy.
In the context of this particular survey, which backs up other surveys about levels of business confidence, business expectation and the future that have been undertaken in the ACT, this is a situation that will persist for some little time yet. It is very hard to get workers. There is an enormously strong demand for labour by ACT employers. We need to continue to work to address skills shortages, most particularly in the context of what might be regarded as nearly full employment, simply to find more workers to work in the ACT.
The trend labour force participation rate is currently just on 72 per cent. That is the highest level in Australia, a near record high, and it is continuing to increase. As a response to these pressures, which is a reflection of the strength of the economy, the government is actively pursuing migration to the ACT. It is seeking vigorously to address the skills shortage, particularly through vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships, as well as through the skills migration program. Departmental officials are in the UK at the moment, and potentially moving into Europe, to attend migration seminars and to seek to attract to the ACT skilled workers from around the world.
Most importantly, next week, along with 21 representatives of business and other sector partners from the ACT, I will be launching the “Live in Canberra” campaign. They have joined with the government to launch a major campaign in south-west Sydney to seek to attract to the ACT some of those people who live in Sydney. There perhaps will be some sensitivities from our cousins across the border in relation to this first attempt to poach Sydneysiders to the ACT, but there is so much now in terms of quality of life in the capital, which is reflected in the strength of the economy, average levels of income and the quality of services, to impress and attract people to the ACT. I am hopeful, as, of course, are our 21 business sector partners, that this will be a successful program. I look forward to the continuing support of all members in ensuring that it is successful.
MS MacDONALD: I have a supplementary question. What do those results say about the state of the ACT economy?
MR STANHOPE: I did touch on that in my earlier answer, but I think that it is important to go to some of the other indicators of the strength of the ACT economy at the moment and the fact that there is something of a bounce from a period of downturn that
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